Survival guides · Disasters

Thunderstorm and Lightning

ACT NOWWhen thunder roars, go indoors. If you can hear it, you can be struck.

1. Get inside

   • A real building — with wiring and plumbing — or a car with a metal roof, windows up.
   • Not a porch, tent, picnic shelter or carport.
   • Stay in 30 minutes after the last thunder.

2. Inside, stay off the wires and pipes

   • No corded phones. No showers, baths or dishes.
   • Unplug electronics before the storm.
   • Stay off concrete floors and away from concrete walls.
   • Away from windows and doors.
   Why

   Lightning travels through wiring, plumbing and the metal bars inside concrete. Cell phones are fine.

3. Caught outside

   • Nowhere outside is safe — keep moving toward a building or car.
   • Off hilltops and out of open fields. Away from water, lone trees and metal fences.
   • In a group? Spread out, so one strike can't hit everyone.

4. Someone is struck

   • Safe to touch — they carry no charge.
   • Not breathing? Start CPR now. (See CPR.)
   • 911 if there's service, or send someone. No signal at all? Dial 911 anyway — iPhone 14 and newer offer to text 911 by satellite. Clear view of the sky.
   • Look for burns where it went in and out — often the head and feet.
   Why

   Lightning kills by stopping the heart, and many people struck can be brought back with CPR. Start right away.

Sources: National Weather Service — Lightning Safety · FEMA / Ready.gov

General information to help in an emergency — not a substitute for training or professional care.